National Register Travel Itinerary--Georgia-Florida

FLORIDA

37) The Breakers

One of the last great resort hotel complexes in Florida, The Breakers was built in 1926 by the heirs of Henry Flagler to replace his original Breakers Hotel (constructed 1903- burned 1925). The large hotel building with its twin towers and grand loggia facing the ocean was influenced by the Villa Medici in Rome. The public rooms are opulently decorated with marble floors and murals on the walls and ceilings. These rooms look out on a sunken central courtyard with fountains and a large reflecting pool. The hotel is part of a resort complex with a golf course, beach club and fourteen Shingle-style "cottages" -- large 2-storied houses with balconies and finished attics. Henry Flagler built these cottages to accommodate The Breakers' wealthy visitors, who found the hotel rooms too small for their families and staff. The cottages became so popular that guests began to build their own on town lots along the water giving rise to the name "Cottage Colony." The hotel has been in continuous operation since its reopening in December 1926.

South Florida Map The Breakers is on South County Road off Palm Beach Avenue in Palm Beach.

Previous Site

Next Site

Main Map